Information: USDL 05-598
(202) 691-6127 cbainfo@bls.gov
Media Contact: For Release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
(202) 691-5902 Friday, April 8, 2005
Internet Address:
http://www.bls.gov/cba
MAJOR WORK STOPPAGES IN 2004
The number of workers idled because of lockouts and strikes
in 2004 rose from the prior year while the number of days of
idleness fell. As a result, the percent of estimated working time
lost remained roughly the same as in 2003, the U.S. Department of
Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. These figures were
still low by historical standards.
Seventeen major work stoppages began during 2004 and one
major work stoppage continued from 2003, idling 170,700 workers
and resulting in 3.3 million workdays of idleness. Comparable
figures for 2003 were 14 stoppages, 129,200 workers idled, and 4.1
million workdays of idleness. (See Tables 1 & 3 and Charts A-C.)
The major work stoppages series, which dates back to 1947, covers
strikes and lockouts involving 1,000 or more employees and lasting
at least one shift. For work stoppages that span two different
calendar years, only those days of idleness in calendar year 2004
are counted. Detailed work stoppage statistics are available at
(http://www.bls.gov/cba/).
Of the 17 major work stoppages beginning in 2004, 14 were in
private industry and three were in State and local governments.
In private industry, the largest number of stoppages occurred
among the service providing industries (seven) and among the
manufacturing sector of the goods producing industries (three).
Of the stoppages occurring in the service providing industries,
four were in the health care and social assistance sector and
three were in the accommodation and food service sector. In State
and local governments, two stoppages were in the transportation
and warehousing sector and one was in the health care and social
assistance sector.
Four work stoppages, three beginning in 2004 and one that
began in 2003, accounted for 83 percent of all workers idled in
2004. The largest was between SBC Communications, Inc. and the
Communications Workers of America (CWA), with 102,000 workers
idled. The second largest, the stoppage that began in 2003 and
continued into 2004, was between Albertsons, Ralphs Grocery
Company, Vons and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW),
with 61,300 workers idled. The third largest was a stoppage
between the Home Health Care Agencies in New York City and the
Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which idled 19,000
workers. The fourth largest was a stoppage between the Hotel and
Casino Employers in Atlantic City and UNITE HERE, which idled
10,000 workers. These four work stoppages cited above were
responsible for 85 percent of the days of idleness in 2004. (See
Table 2.)
The industries with the most days of idleness during the year
due to work stoppages were retail trade (2,447,900 days) and other
services (747,700 days).
The average length of a work stoppage beginning in 2004 was
14.6 days; 83 percent of all work stoppages lasted 30 days or
less. (See Table A.) The longest work stoppage was a dispute
between the Automobile Dealers Association in St. Louis, MO, with
the International Association of Machinists (IAM) and the
International Brother of Teamsters (IBT) lasting 52 days. The
dispute between Albertsons, Ralphs Grocery Company, Vons and the
United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) lasted 39 days in 2004
and 56 days in 2003, for a combined 95-day work stoppage (this
work stoppage is represented in Table A for 2003 because it was
initiated in 2003). There were two major work stoppages still in
effect on December 31, 2004: a work stoppage between Ormet and
United Steel Workers of America (USWA) and a work stoppage between
Jersey Central Power and Light and the International Brotherhood
of Electrical Workers (IBEW).
Table A. Duration of work stoppages beginning in 2004,
2003, and 2002
2004 2003 2002
Duration Number Per- Number Per- Number Per-
cent cent cent
1-2 days 3 18 1 7 2 11
3-10 days 6 35 6 43 4 21
11-20 days 3 18 1 7 4 21
21-30 days 2 12 2 14 3 16
31-40 days 2 12 1 7 2 11
41-50 days 0 0 1 7 3 16
> 50 days 1 6 2 14 1 5
Note: Percent totals may not add to 100 because of
rounding. The 2003 and 2002 numbers represent the total
duration of all work stoppages initiated during these
respective years. The 2004 numbers represent work
stoppages initiated in 2004; at the time of this news
release, there are two work stoppages still ongoing in
2005.
The term "major work stoppage" includes both worker-
initiated strikes and employer-initiated lockouts that
involve 1,000 workers or more. BLS does not distinguish
between strikes and lockouts in its statistics.
Information on work stoppages is obtained from reports
from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, State
labor market information offices, and from media sources such
as The Daily Labor Report and the Wall Street Journal. One
or both parties involved in the work stoppage (employer or
union) is contacted to verify the duration of and the number
of workers idled by the stoppage.
Table 1. Work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers, 1947-2004
Number of Days idle(2)
work Numbers of
stoppages workers
Period beginning involved Percent of
in (thousands) Number estimated
period (1) (thousands) working
time(3)
2004... ...... 17 171 3,344 .01
2003... ...... 14 129 4,091 .01
2002..... .... 19 46 660 (4)
2001... ...... 29 99 1,151 (4)
2000... ...... 39 394 20,419 .06
1999.... ..... 17 73 1,996 .01
1998.... ..... 34 387 5,116 .02
1997.......... 29 339 4,497 .01
1996.......... 37 273 4,889 .02
1995.......... 31 192 5,771 .02
1994.......... 45 322 5,021 .02
1993.......... 35 182 3,981 .01
1992.......... 35 364 3,989 .01
1991.......... 40 392 4,584 .02
1990.......... 44 185 5,926 .02
1989.......... 51 452 16,996 .07
1988.......... 40 118 4,381 .02
1987.......... 46 174 4,481 .02
1986.......... 69 533 11,861 .05
1985.......... 54 324 7,079 .03
1984.......... 62 376 8,499 .04
1983.......... 81 909 17,461 .08
1982.......... 96 656 9,061 .04
1981.......... 145 729 16,908 .07
1980.......... 187 795 20,844 .09
1979.......... 235 1,021 20,409 .09
1978.......... 219 1,006 23,774 .11
1977.......... 298 1,212 21,258 .10
1976.......... 231 1,519 23,962 .12
1975.......... 235 965 17,563 .09
1974.......... 424 1,796 31,809 .16
1973.......... 317 1,400 16,260 .08
1972.......... 250 975 16,764 .09
1971.......... 298 2,516 35,538 .19
1970.......... 381 2,468 52,761 .29
See footnotes at end of table.
Table 1. Work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers, 1947-2004 -
Continued
Number of Days idle(2)
work Numbers of
stoppages workers
Period beginning involved Percent of
in (thousands) Number estimated
period (1) (thousands) working
time(3)
1969.......... 412 1,576 29,397 .16
1968.......... 392 1,855 35,367 .20
1967.......... 381 2,192 31,320 .18
1966.......... 321 1,300 16,000 .10
1965.......... 268 999 15,140 .10
1964.......... 246 1,183 16,220 .11
1963.......... 181 512 10,020 .07
1962.......... 211 793 11,760 .08
1961.......... 195 1,031 10,140 .07
1960.......... 222 896 13,260 .09
1959.......... 245 1,381 60,850 .43
1958.......... 332 1,587 17,900 .13
1957.......... 279 887 10,340 .07
1956.......... 287 1,370 26,840 .20
1955.......... 363 2,055 21,180 .16
1954.......... 265 1,075 16,630 .13
1953.......... 437 1,623 18,130 .14
1952.......... 470 2,746 48,820 .38
1951.......... 415 1,462 15,070 .12
1950.......... 424 1,698 30,390 .26
1949.......... 262 2,537 43,420 .38
1948.......... 245 1,435 26,127 .22
1947.......... 270 1,629 25,720 (5)
1 Number of workers involved includes only those workers who
participated in work stoppages that began in the calendar year. Workers
are counted more than once if they are involved in more than one
stoppage during the reference period. Numbers are rounded to the
nearest thousand.
2 Days idle includes all stopages in effect during the reference
period. For work stoppages that are still ongoing at the end of the
calendar year, only those days of idleness in the calendar year are
counted.
3 Agricultural and government employees are included in the
calculation of estimated working time; private households, forestry,
and fishery employees are excluded.
4 Less than .005.
5 Data not available.
Note: "Number of workers involved" in Table 1 reflects a tabulation of
workers involved in a work stoppage that began in a specific year.
"Number of workers involved" in Table 3 reflects a tabulation of all
workers involved in a work stoppage in that year without making the
distinction of when the work stoppage was initiated.
Table 2. Work stoppages involving 5,000 or more workers beginning in 2004
Organizations involved Industry Beginning Ending
and location(1) code(2) date date
American Axle and Manufacturing, Inc
MI and NY
United Auto Workers (UAW)........ 334350 2/26/04 2/26/04
SBC Communications, Inc.
Nationwide
Communications Workers
of America (CWA)................. 517110 5/21/04 5/24/04
Home Health Care Agencies
New York, NY
Service Employees
International Union (SEIU)....... 621610 6/7/04 6/9/04
City of New York
New York, NY
American Federation of State,
County,
and Municipal Employees
(AFSME)............................. 664410 6/9/04 6/11/04
Hotel and Casino Employees
Atlantic City, NJ
UNITE HERE....................... 721120 10/1/04 11/3/04
Sutter Health
San Francisco, CA
Service Employees
International Union (SEIU)....... 622110 12/6/04 12/10/04
See footnotes at end of table.
Table 2. Work stoppages involving 5,000 or more workers
beginning in 2004 - Continued
Organizations involved Number of Days idle
and location(1) workers(3)
American Axle and Manufacturing, Inc
MI and NY
United Auto Workers (UAW)....... 6,700 6,700
SBC Communications, Inc.
Nationwide
Communications Workers
of America (CWA).............. 102,000 204,000
Home Health Care Agencies
New York, NY
Service Employees
International Union (SEIU)... 19,000 57,000
City of New York
New York, NY
American Federation of State,
County, and Municipal Employees
(AFSME)........................... 7,000 21,000
Hotel and Casino Employees
Atlantic City, NJ
UNITE HERE................... 10,000 230,000
Sutter Health
San Francisco, CA
Service Employees
International Union (SEIU)... 7,000 35,000
1 Labor organizations are affiliated with the AFL-CIO except
where noted as Independent (Ind.).
2 Industry code is from the 2002 NAICS (North American
Industry Classification System).
3 The number of workers involved is rounded to the nearest
100.
Table 3. Work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers, detailed
monthly data, 2004, 2003, and 2002
Number of Number of
work work Numbers of
stoppages stoppages workers Days idle
Period beginning in involved (thousands)
in effect (thousands) (3)
period during (2)
period(1)
2004:
January...... 0 1 61 1204
February..... 1 2 67 1147
March........ 1 1 2 44
April............. 0 1 2 26
May............... 2 2 103 204
June............. 3 4 29 94
July............ 0 1 2 3
August............ 2 2 4 53
September........ 2 3 7 57
October........ 1 3 16 300
November........ 2 4 17 115
December........ 3 4 11 98
Annual............ 17 (4) 320 3344
2003:
January........... 1 2 19 49
February........ 0 0 0 0
March........... 2 2 4 19
April............ 1 1 4 40
May.............. 1 1 1 8
June.............. 1 1 4 16
July...............0 1 4 12
August............ 3 3 8 36
September......... 0 2 3 51
October............5 5 82 1169
November...........0 3 77 1219
December...........0 2 71 1473
Annual............14 (4) 277 4091
2002:
January............0 1 1 21
February...........1 2 3 9
March..............1 1 3 44
April..............2 3 7 81
May................3 5 9 138
June...............1 3 5 36
July...............3 4 8 54
August.............1 3 6 51
September..........3 3 14 40
October............1 3 14 133
November...........2 2 4 24
See footnotes at end of table
Table 3. Work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers, detailed
monthly data, 2004, 2003, and 2002 - Continued
Number of Number of
work work Numbers of
stoppages stoppages workers Days idle
Period beginning in involved (thousands)
in effect (thousands) (3)
period during (2)
period(1)
2002:
December...........1 1 1 29
Annual............19 (4) 75 660
1 Includes stoppages that began in prior months and are still
active.
2 Includes ongoing work stoppages. Numbers are rounded to the nearest
thousand.
3 Days idle includes all stoppages ongoing during the reference
period.
4 This column includes all work stoppages ongoing during the month.
If a work stoppage continues longer than one month, it will be counted
in each of the months.
Note: "Number of workers involved" in Table 1 reflects a tabulation of
workers involved in a work stoppage that began in a specific year.
"Number of workers involved" in Table 3 reflects a tabulation of all
workers involved in a work stoppage in that year without making the
distinction of when the work stoppage was initiated.